The Federal Government has announced that it will proceed with the transition to Computer-Based Testing, CBT, for the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, and the National Examinations Council, NECO, by 2026.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, made this known during a guest appearance on The Morning Brief, a programme on Channels Television, on Tuesday.
This announcement follows growing concerns about the integrity of public examinations, particularly after the release of statistics from the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, which revealed that over 1.5 million of the 1.95 million candidates scored below 200 out of 400.
Responding to the poor UTME results and what they signify regarding learning outcomes at the senior secondary school level, the minister described the situation as a major concern, emphasising that it reflects examinations being conducted properly.
“JAMB conducts its exam using a computer-based testing system. They’ve implemented strong security measures, and as a result, fraud or cheating has been nearly eliminated. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for WAEC and NECO,”; he said.
Alausa disclosed that the government had undertaken a comprehensive review of the nation’s examination systems shortly after he assumed office.
“We carried out a diagnostic review of how exams are conducted nationwide. I set up a committee to investigate this, and I expect to receive their report in the coming days,”; he added.
He reiterated that WAEC and NECO would commence the migration of their examinations to CBT from November 2025, beginning with objective papers, with full implementation, including essay components, by May-June 2026.
“We have to use technology to fight this fraud. There are so many ‘miracle centres’ and that is simply unacceptable. People cheat during WAEC and NECO exams and then face JAMB, where cheating is nearly impossible. That’s the disparity we’re seeing now. It’s sad,”; Alausa said.
